Tanya Ballard Brown

Illustration by @septmbr

Tanya Ballard Brown is an editor for NPR. She joined the organization in 2008.

As an editor, Tanya brainstorms and develops digital features; collaborates with radio editors and reporters to create compelling digital content that complements radio reports; manages digital producers and interns; and, edits stories appearing on NPR.org. Tanya also writes blog posts, commentaries and book reviews, has served as acting supervising editor for Digital Arts, Books and Entertainment; edited for Talk of the Nation and Tell Me More; and filed on-air news reports. She also has laughed loudly on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast and Facebook Live segments.

Tanya is former editor for investigative and longterm projects at washingtonpost.com and during her tenure there coordinated with the print and digital newsrooms to develop multimedia content. She has also been a reporter or editor at GovExec.com/Government Executive magazine, The Tennessean in Nashville and the (Greensboro) News & Record.

In her free time, Tanya fronts a band filled with other NPR staffers, sings show tunes, dances randomly in the middle of the newsroom, takes acting and improv classes, teaches at Georgetown University, does storytelling performances, and dreams of being a bass player. Or Sarah Vaughan. Whichever comes first.

An annual survey that asks Americans about crimes they've experienced showed that the rate at which those surveyed said they had been raped or sexually assaulted nearly doubled from 2017 to 2018.

The 2018 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), released Tuesday, is managed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the U.S. Justice Department, and asks people if they've been victims of crimes — even if they didn't report them to police.

In response to a federal court order, the Trump administration announced a new policy with regard to migrant families on Friday. The administration will now hold families together for longer than 20 days.

Luis Posada Carriles, a militant and former CIA operative who was lauded by many in the Cuban exile community for his efforts to overthrow Fidel Castro, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 90.

"An extraordinary life has ended," Arturo Hernandez, a lawyer for the hardline exile, told the AP. "It's a very sad morning for me, to say farewell to such a great man."

Chicago saw fewer murders and shootings in the first quarter of 2018 compared with the same time period in 2017, according to new stats released by police officials.

The Chicago Police Department's crime numbers show a "22 percent reduction in murders and a 25 percent reduction in shootings compared to the same period in 2017," a statement from the department said. Citywide, crime is down 15 percent so far this year.